Righting Wrongs
by CaptScarlett
Summary: When Brennan's conscience gets the better of her, she discovers that Booth isn't so 'bad' after all. Tag for Beaver in the Otter.


**A/N Just a bit of fluff from the day after BitO ends. Enjoy.**

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Temperance Brennan couldn't sleep. She lay in bed, eyes wide and blinded by darkness, thinking over the events of earlier in the evening.

'That's stealing' she'd pointed out to Booth at his suggestion that they leave the bar without paying for their drinks.

It was.

And they had.

And after the original rush of adrenalin, the exhilaration that resulted from 'being bad' and getting away with it had worn off, the decision had begun to grate.

It was wrong. It was illegal. She liked that place, she wanted to be able to go there without fear of retribution. Brennan knew the only way she would get any sleep tonight was by resolving to make things right in the morning.

Tomorrow she would go back to the bar and fix it.

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"You paid for our drinks, didn't you," she said as she pulled out a chair at the diner and sat down opposite her partner.

"Excuse me?"

"Last night, Booth, before we 'dined and dashed' as you called it, you paid."

He cleared his throat and shifted a little in his seat. "Why would I do that, Bones? It would have defeated the purpose of the exercise."

"That 'exercise' as you call it was for my benefit Booth, not yours. You wouldn't really have gained anything new from the experience since you've already admitted to doing questionable things in the past." She picked up a French fry from his plate and popped it into her mouth. "You've been 'bad'."

"That's besides the point." He swatted her hand away as she reached for another fry. "What makes you think I paid anyway? You never saw me leave any money."

"You haven't denied that you did."

"Oh, here we go."

"There's no particular reason," she shrugged. "Further consideration of the matter has simply led me to the conclusion that you did."

"You lie awake all last night thinking about it, Bones?"

Brennan ignored his jibe. "For a man in your position, as law enforcement officer, a father, a good Catholic, it would be out of character for you to act so irresponsibly. It would set a bad example for your son, it might even put your job at risk. The chances of getting caught and disciplined for your actions would have outweighed any possible pleasure you may have derived and been sufficient to prevent you from acting irrationally."

"Hey," he protested, "I can be irrational with the best of 'em."

"If you say so Booth, but I'm of the opinion that when it comes to decisions like this, we're not really all that different. We both have a strong sense of what's right and wrong that enables us to take the course of action appropriate to a situation."

_Yeah we do, Bones. _

_Yes, we do._

His expression had changed slightly, and his eyes were appraising her in a way that made her suddenly uncomfortable. Brennan averted her gaze by signalling the waitress for a cup of coffee. When she looked back she found a smug smile had crept into his face.

"I get it."

"Get what?" she asked reluctantly.

"You went back to the bar to pick up the tab." He shook his head and laughed softly. "Come on Bones, just admit it!"

"I admit nothing. I don't know what you're talking about Booth." What was keeping the waitress?

"If you don't know what I mean then why've you got that look on your face?"

"What look?"

"Like you've been caught with your hand in the proverbial cookie jar, doing something you shouldn't." He pointed a finger at her. "It's called guilt."

Coffee be damned, she needed to leave.

"I'm not guilty of anything Booth. It's late, I should get back to the Jeffersonian." She slung her handbag over her shoulder and got up to leave.

"You so went back and paid!" He followed her to the door and pulled it open for her. "But the bartender told you it wasn't necessary because I'd left some money. You un-broke the rules and defeated the purpose of the exercise, Bones. Your frontal lobe isn't even the size a raisin any more, it's a-" what? what kind of dried fruit was smaller than a raisin? - "well, it's even smaller."

"By that logic yours is shrinking too."

"Hey, nothing of mine is shrinking, Bones."

"Your credibility as a bad boy is. You just admitted to paying the bill."

How had she just managed to turn this back on him? Before he could think to respond Brennan turned on her heel and walked away without another word, a slight smile nestled on her lips.

FIN.

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